Haut-Medoc

Despite being as visually unprepossessing as the rest of the Médoc, this large red-wine appellation is home to some of the world’s greatest wines. Its 4,500 hectares of vineyards form a largely continuous strip that follows the Gironde from St Seurin-de-Cadourne to Blanquefort. All the great communes of the Left Bank fall within its boundaries: Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac and St Estèphe.

Learn more about Haut-Medoc

Despite being as visually unprepossessing as the rest of the Médoc (despite its grandiose châteaux) this large red-wine appellation of Haut-Médoc is home to some of the world’s greatest wines. Its 4,500 hectares of vineyards form a largely continuous strip that follows the Gironde from St Seurin-de-Cadourne, just north of St Estèphe, to Blanquefort in the northern suburbs of Bordeaux.

All the great communes of the Left Bank fall within its boundaries: Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac and St Estèphe, as well as the up and coming Moulis and Listrac. These are labelled under their own, more illustrious and expensive appellation names. Châteaux labelled simply as Haut-Médoc rarely reach such heights, but nevertheless offer consistently good quality and offer some of the best value in Bordeaux.

Haut-Médoc wines tend to be firm and fine with generous fruit and a nice minerality – what many would consider ‘classic Claret’. They come from loftier vineyards and offer higher quality and more complexity than those labelled simply as ‘Médoc’. Almost all wines are a blend of the principal varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc – which helps producers hedge their bets if the slightly capricious climate causes one variety to fail. Small amounts of Petit Verdot, Malbec and even Carmenère are also used.

The higher proportion of sand and gravel to the south tends to produce finer wines, while the heavier clay and gravel north of Margaux yields sturdier examples. The best Haut-Médocs are found north of Ludon, a village just below Margaux. These include five classified Growths: Third Growth Ch. La Lagune, underperforming Fourth Growth Ch. la Tour Carnet and Fifth Growths Ch. Cantemerle, Ch. Camensac and Ch. Belgrave – as well as a number of fine Cru Bourgeois. Ageing ability varies but the lesser wines are usually delicious after three to four years, lasting around a decade, while the Cru Classés have a drinkability window of around six to 15 years.

This wine offers immediate fruit forward aromatics with a good spicy note on the nose. Chateau Cantemerle was a success this vintage with thanks to the perfect balance they achieved. The refreshing acidity cleanses the palate and makes for a rather moreish Claret.Laura Atkinson, Private Account Manager

Ch. Cantemerle has fashioned a robust, serious Claret for the 2004 vintage. Moderately tannic, medium-bodied with good structure, purity, and balance, it opens with a subtle nose of licorice and black currants. Hints of menthol, black cherries, cranberries, and blueberries emerge on the palate. It possesses intense flavours and has the potential to develop further.

Unlike Right Bank Bordeaux properties, Special Cuveés are a rare phenomenon in the Médoc. Ch. Palmer do a limited XIXth Century blend (but that incorporates grapes from the northern Rhône as well) and though there have been occasional experimental releases from a few other châteaux there is certainly nothing we know of that compares with this very fine, limited production special cuvée from Ch. Sociando-Mallet - Cuvee Jean Gautreau.

Jean Gautreau purchased Ch. Sociando-Mallet in 1969 and rescued it from a period of inconsistency turning it into one of the most popular Cru Bourgeois on the market today. In 1995, driven by a quest for quality, Jean Gautreau and his team decided to select the fifteen best barrels from the vintage to make a special cuvée blend made with a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (approx. 80%) than the regular château bottling (approx. 60%). The total volume is only 1% of the production of the whole estate and hence is very rarely seen in the market

The wines of Ch. Sociando-Mallet are traditionally weighty, firm and well-structured, rich in fruit with excellent ageing potential and Cuvée Jean Gautreau is simply a different expression of this style but with an extra step up in quality and ageability.

As Jean Gautreau says: "I have a superb terroir which I want to express in the wine. I try to make a classic Médoc for long keeping."

The 1996 is classic Cabernet Sauvignon vintage and drinking beautifully now. There are substantial savoury depths to this blackcurrant and briary fruit driven wine with a satisfyingly firmness to the palate that still shows its capacity to age. Fresh and vibrant with cedary notes to the finish. This will please any lover of classic Left Bank claret. Now - 2022Peter Newton, Private Account Manager

"Rich, perfumed, intense and very decadent on the nose. Desperately enticing, you will really want to dive in! More restrained and reassuringly reserved on the palate but with a rewarding and very long and seemless finish. Without a doubt the finest Sociando I have ever tried."(Simon Staples, Sales and Marketing Director)

Since 2009 the wines from this popular Cru Bourgeois have been on a rather serious roll. Now being made with technical advice from the team at Ch. Pontet-Canet, wines that were once merely worthy, with a rustic sort of charm, now show real flair and energy. Traditionally deep, dark and brooding, the 2012 is lighter on its feet, but still nicely rounded and clearly very concentrated. Everything is nicely integrated, and although still young, the wine is sufficiently well balanced as to be drinkable now. If you chose to keep it for a year or two, your patience will not go unrewarded.Philip Moulin - Fine Wine Buyer

Well this little beauty took us all by surprise. Usually Haut-Médoc notes tend to be as exciting as a Ford Mondeo, but this fresh and racy number is more like a Mercedes S-Class! It has an expressive nose of currants and cassis, with lift and life to it. The palate offers flesh and roundness that so many lesser growths lacked this vintage. The sweet tannins play perfect partner to the freshness and crunch of the acid – this really is a charmer and could be a value buy.Hong Kong Fine Wine Team

Soft and silky on the palate with an almost Right Bank feel, the 2009 Ch. Cantemerle is full if generous, mulberry fruit and supple tannins. The fruit is well balanced by the refreshing acidity, leading to a crisp, clean finish.

There is a completeness that is evident in 2005 Clarets, and this is what immediately strikes with 2005 Cantemerle. It has bags of fruit, tannin and acidity, all tied up in an impeccably-balanced, polished package. Sweet cassis fruit is accompanied by a spicy edge and a long, fresh lift. This is very pretty now but ideally wants another five years to really get going, and will easily keep for another five after that.Tom Cave, Cellar Plan Manager

2010 was a superb vintage in Bordeaux that will go down in history for its great quality, so it’s worth the effort to search out those great value gems that still exist from 2010 while one can. Chateau Cantemerle is a Bordeaux property that is capable of producing very good wines that compare with the likes of Ch. Batailley and Ch. Haut Bages Liberal in terms of the value it can offer. Classic Claret, elegant and charming, medium bodied with good ageing potential and best of all, well priced. Named as a 5ème Cru Classé in the 1855 classification and situated just outside the Margaux Appellation, it’s one of the first classed growths one encounters in the Medoc, as one drives up from the city of Bordeaux.

Wine critics the world over see Chateau Cantemerle as offering some of the best value in Bordeaux with its combination of good quality and modest pricing. It will never be an investment wine per se, but particularly from an exemplary vintage such as 2010, one can have a case of wine that will cellar effortlessly and will always be a joy to drink. This will fit perfectly into the Cellar of any connoisseur and at this price is very good value, after 5 years or so of patience you will have a superb case of wine to drink over the next 15 years.

This is absolutely terrific! Always reliable, good value but perhaps a little too steady, their 2010 takes it up several notches and on to a whole new level. It is really generous with ripe fruit, and should offer terrific value for the best Cantemerle we can ever recall tasting.Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director Asia

This is quite forward in style for a 2006. Dense dark fruits and earthy tones combined with juicy tannins and a long finish mean that this wine offers far more than its price suggests. It should start to drink in 2010 and will continue to delight for 10 more years.(Matthew Tipping, BBR Fine Wine Specialist, Oct 2008)

This attractive wine from one of the Bordeaux's most majestic château builds on their outstanding 2005, proving once again that they are well worthy of their Fifth Growth status. It combines classic Haut-Médoc earthy minerality with rich, stylish strawberry and blackcurrant fruit, all wrapped up in a refined, well-balanced package. Lovely, fresh, and beautifully-perfumed, Cantemerle's 2006 will offer extremely pleasurable drinking until 2017 at the very least.(Simon Staples, BBR Fine Wine Director, June 2007)

Wow, has La Lagune ever tasted as good as this? A groundbreaking château over the years - it was the first Cru Classé estate to install a woman, the late Jeanne Boyrie, as manager in 1964 - recently its wines have returned to their rightful place amongst the best in the region.

Its glorious 2005 has soft, sweet, ripe blackcurrant and black cherry fruit which blossoms within a lovely fragrant Margaux-style freshness and racy acidity. With lovely concentration, elegance and poise this should be a terrific bargain and looks sure to rival if not surpass their fabulous 1982.

Fresh, full-bodied, well defined, and already revealing plenty of nuances, this intensely concentrated wine glows a lovely purple colour. The bouquet of blueberries, white flowers and minerals is very attractive indeed.

"As one might expect, proprietor Jean Gautreau has produced an uncompromisingly, potentially enormously long-lived 2005 that is as good as most Medoc cru classes. Based on previous vintages, it will undoubtedly require 10-12 years of cellaring. Its saturated blue/purple color is followed by a sumptuous bouquet of blueberries, white flowers, and minerals. Fresh, full-bodied, well-defined, and already revealing plenty of nuances, this intensely concentrated, impeccably pure effort is a classic vin de garde.Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr 2007

Unlike Right Bank Bordeaux properties, Special Cuveés are a rare phenomenon in the Médoc. Ch. Palmer do a limited XIXth Century blend (but that incorporates grapes from the northern Rhône as well) and though there have been occasional experimental releases from a few other châteaux there is certainly nothing we know of that compares with this very fine, limited production special cuvée from Ch. Sociando-Mallet - Cuvee Jean Gautreau.

Jean Gautreau purchased Ch. Sociando-Mallet in 1969 and rescued it from a period of inconsistency turning it into one of the most popular Cru Bourgeois on the market today. In 1995, driven by a quest for quality, Jean Gautreau and his team decided to select the fifteen best barrels from the vintage to make a special cuvée blend made with a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (approx. 80%) than the regular château bottling (approx. 60%). The total volume is only 1% of the production of the whole estate and hence is very rarely seen in the market

The wines of Ch. Sociando-Mallet are traditionally weighty, firm and well-structured, rich in fruit with excellent ageing potential and Cuvée Jean Gautreau is simply a different expression of this style but with an extra step up in quality and ageability.

As Jean Gautreau says: "I have a superb terroir which I want to express in the wine. I try to make a classic Médoc for long keeping."

For the 1997 vintage, the nose is showing a hint of age with a bouquet of fruits of the forest, espresso bean and pencil shaving. A really very good blend – a rich, fluid palate of blackberry, cassis, earthy undertones and hint of mocha and graphite. Good firm tannic structure and yet ripe with low acidity making this a very approachable wine. Drink now to 2020Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

Cantemerle and La Lagune are the first of the Grand Cru Classés that you see as you drive north from Bordeaux. The soil here is a little lighter (sandier) than further north in the Medoc, and Cantemerle's wines reflect this in their fluid, supple style. Rarely do they make a blockbuster here (the '89 and '09 are exceptions) but the 2008 is a benchmark Cantemerle - the nose is perfumed with violets and a touch of allspice, and the palate is beautifully balanced and enticingly fresh. Cellar for two years and drink until 2018. Philip Moulin, Berrys' Private Account Manager

Sumptuous, sophisticated and sexy! This wine has a glorious, flamboyant nose of deep cassis and creamy oak and it is plump and juicy on the palate with a huge, long finish. We cannot remember ever tasting a more impressive and seductive wine from Ch. Sociando-Mallet. (Simon Staples, BBR Fine Wine Director)

Unlike Right Bank Bordeaux properties, Special Cuveés are a rare phenomenon in the Médoc. Ch. Palmer do a limited XIXth Century blend (but that incorporates grapes from the northern Rhône as well) and though there have been occasional experimental releases from a few other châteaux there is certainly nothing we know of that compares with this very fine, limited production special cuvée from Ch. Sociando-Mallet - Cuvee Jean Gautreau.

Jean Gautreau purchased Ch. Sociando-Mallet in 1969 and rescued it from a period of inconsistency turning it into one of the most popular Cru Bourgeois on the market today. In 1995, driven by a quest for quality, Jean Gautreau and his team decided to select the fifteen best barrels from the vintage to make a special cuvée blend made with a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (approx. 80%) than the regular château bottling (approx. 60%). The total volume is only 1% of the production of the whole estate and hence is very rarely seen in the market

The wines of Ch. Sociando-Mallet are traditionally weighty, firm and well-structured, rich in fruit with excellent ageing potential and Cuvée Jean Gautreau is simply a different expression of this style but with an extra step up in quality and ageability.

As Jean Gautreau says: "I have a superb terroir which I want to express in the wine. I try to make a classic Médoc for long keeping."

A result of the remarkable 2005 vintage, this wine offers the hallmarks of the year with excellent concentration of fruit, ripe yet structured tannins and a lovely freshness throughout. Eleven years on and this is starting to display some secondary characteristics, yet there remains a lovely core of black berry fruit, complemented with notes of bramble and damson.

A slight creaminess to the texture, there is great richness across the palate which holds through to a long finish. Great structure with integrated tannins which will carry this for years to allow greater evolution in bottle. Approachable now, but I would enjoy this from 2018 - 2028.Chris Lamb, Private Account Manager